Upper Merion man in local drug ring pleads guilty

COURTHOUSE — A financier in a major local drug ring that was brought down when investigators intercepted the case with wiretaps pleaded guilty to several felony counts in Montgomery County Court Tuesday.

John Gambone, 28, of the 600 block of Nantucket Circle, Upper Merion, pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver and one count of engaging in criminal conspiracy, before Judge Gary S. Silow.

Prosecutors argued Gambone plotted with about two dozen other co-conspirators in a Norristown drug ring that peddled kilos of cocaine and other narcotics to the streets of Norristown and beyond.

Jury selection in the criminal trial of six other defendants commences Wednesday.

According to court documents, Jose Mauricio Rodriguez-Cordero, who went by “Mauricio,” was the ringleader and primary target of a covert wiretap investigation headed by Montgomery County Detectives in December 2011.

Mauricio is a reported illegal immigrant from Costa Rica, but was residing in Norristown, when investigator learned he was allegedly one of the biggest traffickers of cocaine and other controlled substances in the area. He has been serving time in Montgomery County Correctional Facility (MCCF) since his December 2011 arrest.

The affidavit describes Gambone and his brother as “cocaine customers” of Mauricio. “John Gambone and James Gambone were the financial sources in the purchase of a kilogram of cocaine by Mauricio from the undercover agent at the conclusion of the wiretap investigation,” it reads.

Following Gambone’s guilty plea Tuesday, defense attorney Steven Fairlie said his client was very calm and collected during his plea.

“He understands that he’s going to have to face a penalty in this case and I think he’s come to grips with that in his mind,” said Fairlie.

“He was on the periphery. He was asked for money and was lending money to a friend and that’s how he got caught up in this. He wasn’t going to be present for any deals or (take) possession of any of the cocaine.”

Investigators used wiretaps to intersect calls between several of the people involved and detected secret code the defendants were using. In some cases, transactions allegedly took place that passed thousands of dollars of drugs between hands.

Gambone faces a maximum sentence of 30 to 60 years and sentencing has been deferred in this case.